The countdown to middle of the night on New Year’s Eve is on. The town mentioned they be expecting tens of hundreds of revelers to pack Times Square and notice the enduring ball drop.
“It’s absolutely iconic,” mentioned Anne Rigg, who’s visiting New York from Manchester, United Kingdom with a gaggle of buddies. “Everybody in the world wants to come see the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, and this year, we’re here!”
On Saturday, the organizers of the development, the Times Square Alliance, tested the well-known ball drop ahead of the massive tournament.
This yr’s ball weighs round 12,000 kilos, is roofed in just about 2,700 crystals and includes a bow tie trend.
“We feel great. We feel like we’ve done a lot of preparation. We’ve been working with the city,” mentioned Tom Harris, the president of the Times Square Alliance. “Mayor Adams’ team has been great, so are the police department and the fire department. Every city agency is involved in making this a safe, memorable event for all in Times Square tomorrow night.”
The NYPD has a safety plan in position, as they do yearly, to verify revelers are protected. There shall be uniformed and plain-clothed officials. Given world conflicts just like the Israel-Hamas warfare, cops are increasing the protection zone and the usage of measures like drones, despite the fact that they made it transparent there are recently no credible threats.
“We will be out here with our canines, our horsebacks, our drones, our helicopters, our boats,” mentioned Mayor Eric Adams at a press convention Friday. “The full complement of our public safety apparatus will be on display.”
Tourists, each the ones seeing the ball drop and others simply taking part in New York City, mentioned they really feel protected.
“Security really put our mind at ease,” mentioned Joanne Doherty, who is a component of Rigg’s crew of buddies. “The amount of police, and everybody is so friendly. We just love the atmosphere and we just can’t wait for the ball drop! Cannot wait!”
“I just love the city, it’s a pretty place to be,” mentioned Ali Nasser, who mentioned he’s visiting town for New Year’s Eve, however might not be staring at the ball drop in-person.